Nothing happens until somebody sells something. To make sales happen, IMMS.com Key Sales Consultant Randy Schwantz has created a comprehensive series of 43 Producer Success Lessons. Used singly or in combination, these powerful tools can help your producers build their skills - and grow their sales.
The business you yourself do is really a subset of the company you work for, so it's essential to understand the philosophy and goals of your organization. Your agency's marketing approach has three key components. You need a solid understanding of them so you can structure your own business similarly.
Quality Service
You've heard the expression 'busier than a one-armed paper hanger.' Well, it's a perfect description of your competitors at direct-writing firms.
Your agency can attract high-net-worth clients because of shared responsibilities. An account executive is assigned to each account. Imagine the trust that develops when one of your clients calls the office and speaks to the same person every time. The AE has nothing to do but handle their claims and service. How in the world could a direct writer compete with that?
Do you think clients prefer to call an 800 number and talk to a different person every time they have a claim? Or do you think the kind of clients you work with prefer personal service?
Risk Management
We covered consultative selling in lesson 13. Effective consultative selling takes time and effort. You have to invest the time to develop rapport, really listen to the client's problems, and design effective solutions. The risk management approach enhances the consultative approach.
Mike Smith, a producer in Dallas, says he often finds clients who are wide open on second homes. They may have Fire insurance but no Liability coverage. The really scary thing for the client is that they usually have no idea they're self-insured for that contingency.
When you work with people with many expensive assets, it's essential that you have a way to keep up with it all. That's what the Personal Insurance Risk Management Review does. It provides you and your clients with a system for identifying each potential problem. This systematic approach lets you feel that both your agency and you are giving your clients the best value.
A Choice of Carriers
Do you want to work with wealthy clients? Be aware that wealthy clients tend to have more assets than the typical client, and these assets are more valuable. All those pricey cars, expensive houses, and big-ticket toys like boats and planes mean more claims.
But carriers don't like claims. In fact, too many claims will get your client canceled. Then what? Well, for a client with a smaller firm, cancellation might mean a change of agents, because agents usually represent only one or two carriers. But a high-caliber client who's with a big agency that has numerous markets gets to keep their agent and their AE. They just have to change companies.
Such an agency writes for excellent carriers. They cost more, but that's not a problem. Those high-end clients expect good service and are used to paying for it.
Exercises
- Describe the results your customers want when they do business with you.
- List five things that make your agency unique. What are its areas of excellence?
- Based on what you know, how can you position yourself to really leverage your agency's strengths?